Vacation with the Mustangs
by Terra Alchemist
Summary: Roy's family is going on vacation, but what horrors will ensue when he brings along Maes, Riza, and Havoc with him? Rated T just in case for later chapters. Chapter 4, 'Jealousy 101' is up!
1. Who to Bring Along?

**VACATION WITH THE MUSTANGS**

Leroy strode through the halls of the Mustang Family Mansion and called out to his son. "Roy! Roy!" Roy looked up from playing with his cat. "What?" Roy picked up his cat and patted it. "We're going to the beach, and then a theme park. You can bring two people with you. _Just two_." Roy nodded and put his cat, Belcini, on the floor. "Alright... just two."

"We're leaving in four hours, so hurry it up. Call them, tell them, then pack up." A thought occurred to Roy and he turned around. "Are we taking Alex with us?" Alex Louis Armstrong to be exact, who had been adopted by Leroy and his wife and raised as an older brother for Roy. Leroy nodded and turned on his heel to find his wife, Ilia. Fourteen year old Roy groaned and thought of being stuck in the back of the car with Alex, who would be spouting things that ended with, " 'passed down in the Armstrong family for generations' ".

"Who am I going to invite though..." his thoughts went instantaneously to his best friend, Maes Hughes, who didn't live too far from their mansion in East City. He dialed Maes's number and waited as it rang for Maes to pick up. "Hello? Hughes residence," Maes sighed into the phone. "Maes! It's Roy. My dad said we're going on vacation for the beach, and then we're going to a theme park. I can bring two people with me."

"So you want me to come?"

"Yeah! C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Uh... sorry buddy, but we were going to a theme park too... the one in West City. Which one are you going to?"

"Who cares about West? We're going to the huge one near the beach, the one that only opens every five years!"

Maes's eyes widened. "No fair! I'll ask my mom and dad. Hold will you?" he put the phone on the table and Roy heard him asking his parents for permission. Maes got back to the phone and said he could come. "Awesome!"

"But who else are you going to ask? Kain is already out of town... and so is Vato!" Maes was referring to Fuery and Falman. "How about Riza, Roy?" Roy audibly gulped on the phone. "You think she'll come? I mean..."

Maes grinned. "Come on, take a chance! You've had a crush on her for ages anyways."

Roy sighed. "I'll try. We're leaving in four hours, how soon can you be here?"

"I'm already finished packing, You can count on me being there in half an hour. See ya!" The phone clicked and Roy was on his own.

Roy put down the phone and forced himself to breathe evenly. Leroy leaned on the doorway and grinned at his son. "Nervous Roy?" Roy glared at him and picked up Belcini who was pawing at his leg. "Maybe." his voice cracked. It had been cracking for a while now. Leroy asserted that it was just puberty kicking in, but Roy was devastated by the state of his voice. "I'm going to call Riza, okay?"

Leroy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Riza? Hawkeye's granddaughter? The girl you have pictures of in your room?" Roy grabbed his collar. "I told you not to go into my room!" he howled. "What? I can't vacuum my own son's room?" Ilia smacked Leroy in the head with one of her maces. "Owwww..." "You could at least ask our little Roy!" Roy sweat dropped. " 'Little'?"

"Well? Hurry up and call. You don't have forever."

"Alright, alright..." he picked up the phone and dialed Riza's number quickly.

"Hello?"

"Riza! Hi... it's uh, Roy..."

"Hi Roy, what do you want?"

"We're goingto the beachand I'm bringing two people... Maes said he could, and I was wondering if you could..."

"I'll ask my grandpa." She turned from the phone to her grandfather who was sitting in front of a fire reading a book in relative peace. "Can I go with Roy to the beach?"

"Who else will be there?"

"Him and Maes Hughes." Her grandfather's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What? You alone with two boys? I won't have it!"

"Um, my mom and dad are going too..." Roy said.

"His parents are going too."

"Oh, in that case... if it's not too much for Leroy, you can go."

Riza turned back to the phone. "Grandpa said I could go, I'll be there in an hour. Bye!" the phone clicked and Roy stared at the reciever in his hand, unable to believe his luck. Maes was already at their house and loaded his luggage into the car. "So, did you get her to come?" Roy nodded. "See? You haven't lost the spark Roy." Roy shot him a dirty look and sighed at the look of nearly suppressed laughter on his father's face. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. We'll leave in a few hours, so make sure everyone is here by then, all right?" Leroy tossed him a pair of gloves and Roy gasped. "Pyrotex gloves? But you said-"

"That I wouldn't let you get near any until I thought you were capable enough? Consider it an early birthday present, Son." Leroy smirked at him and walked out to go pack his own belongings, leaving an itchy fingered teenager with a pair of pyrotex gloves.


	2. Don't Even THINK About It

**Vacation with the Mustangs**

**Chapter 2**

"Well Roy? Are we ready to go?" Roy nodded and tried to keep himself from staring at Riza too much. Leroy nudged him. "Look kid, it's alright to be nervous... just don't go drooling on my car seats when you _do _look at her." Roy had a very large urge to light him on fire and bite him viciously, but at that moment, Alex bounded out of the house, his sparkles ever present in the air.

"Ho ho! A family vacation, it will be such fun!" Leroy rubbed his head. "Ah, well... Alex, there won't be enough room for you in the car. Where are you going to sit?" Alex Armstrong looked the car up and down, sparkling thoughtfully. "I will take my seat on top of it!" he announced, leaping on top of the car and sitting on it with his luggage. "That solves our problem, doesn't it Leroy?" Ilia asked.

Leroy still looked nervous. "I'm still having second thoughts... wouldn't it be safer to go in two seperate vehicles? What will we do if someone from Eastern HQ stops us?" Roy shivered in his seat and Maes and Riza looked at him, concerned. He had often had nightmares of his parents being seperated by force, or just taken away from him completely. Maes patted his shoulder. "It's alright, they won't get caught."

Roy's parents were two State Alchemists,Fuhrer Leroy Mustang, and Brigadier GeneralIlia Durandal. The Flame Arm Alchemist, and the Healing Alchemist. If they were ever caught... Roy just didn't like to think about the consequences. Even if Leroy was Fuhrer, he had been denied the power to change the rule of Fraternization, and so the two of them were still in great danger.The only people to know about it were the Hughes family since his mother was an old friend of Mrs. Hughes, and Riza's grandfather who was vigorously loyal to Leroy as another of his Brigadier Generals.

"We already worked it out, remember? We said we were taking them to the beach for a vacation from their parents with our own salary, remember?" Leroy still didn't like it, and he pulled at his flame gauntlets irritibly. "All right. I might as well not worry about it, it won't do me any good," he muttered. Then he smacked himself in the head.

"I forgot! I told Havoc I'd do him a favor, and owing him anything gives me the creeps, so I agreed to take his son with us too."

Roy's mouth dropped open. "Jean? You're bringing _Jean?" _he screamed. Leroy glared at him severely. "Yes, I'm bringing Jean Havoc with us. There is to be no burning, no needless abuse, no 'accidents', and no maiming of any kind." Roy cursed and his mother smacked him in the head. "What did I tell you about cursing?"

"Sorry Mom... but _Jean?_" he whined. "Do we really have to?" His father had already sat down at the wheel and had set his jaw, meaning that he wouldn't be swayed no matter what Roy did. Roy sulked in between Maes and Riza sullenly. "Can we leave him if he doesn't show up?" his father only gave him a glare that blatantly said 'NO'. "Why couldn't you have owed Falman or Fuery a favor, eh? Why'd it have to be Havoc?"

"It's your own fault. Remember who saved you when you tipped yourself out the office window?" Roy muttered a half-hearted 'Yes', and patted Belcini, who had stretched out on Maes' lap and buried his claws in his pant leg. Maes gave him a wince. "Why can't you have a dog instead of a cat! Cats hurt..."

"I wanted a dog, but Mom's allergic. So I had to get a cat. Dad doesn't like dogs either because they have a strange tendency to bite him. He's a dog bite magnet, I swear." Leroy cleared his throat and looked at his only son, irritated. "Can we go now, Your Majesty, or have you not finished complaining?" He didn't wait for an answer and backed out of the driveway, muttering, "Now I wish I hadn't had a son so early in life. What was I thinking?" Ilia directed a frosty look in his direction. "You certainly weren't thinking with your head!" she seemed irritated too, and had taken a rather dramatic swing from happy to annoyed.

"I was sixteen! You expected _me _to be the mature one?"

"Yes, I did."

"Love is great and all, but it comes to bite you in the ass fourteen years down the road and counting."

"Now if only you had thought of that when you were sixteen!"

Roy groaned audibly in the backseat and they turned to look at him for a moment at a traffic light. Then Ilia burst out laughing and Leroy directed a bewildered glance at her. "The world is going mental," he muttered darkly. Ilia then promptly fell asleep in the seat. Leroy stuck his head out of the window. "Alex! Tell me when the light turns green, would you? Driving is hell for me." Alex said that he would and watched the light like a hawk.

Riza giggled in the seat and Maes and Roy stared at her. "What's going on?" they asked, both confused at the sudden strangeness Roy's parents were exhibiting. She looked at both of them. "Oh, nothing!" she giggled again and they pleaded some more. "Please, Riza! Come on, tell us!"

"I'm surprised Roy doesn't know already! But..." shepaused thoughtfully. "I'll tell you if you can find me a stray puppy at the beach." Roy and Maes goggled at her. "Done!" they said. Leroy gave them a suspicious look, Alex boomed out that the light had turned green, and Leroy put his foot down on the pedal, made a turn and stopped in front of a largish house. He honked loudly and a man with a cigarette in his mouth ushered Jean out the door.

"He isn't sitting next to me! I remember what happened the last time he did!" Roy said. All that will be said of that unfortunate incident, is that Roy was in the hospital for two months with a broken leg and screaming that he would kill Jean Havoc no matter what it took. He was constantly put on sedatives, to no one's surprise.

Maes sighed, resigned to his fate, and scooted over so Jean could sit down next to them. Roy smiled brightly. "Dad didn't say anything about-"

"No mental or psychological torture whatsoever."

"Darn."

Jean grinned at Roy sheepishly and Roy gave him a glare that would have killed and disentegrated him on the spot if looks could kill. Maes and Riza decided not to interfere with them and let them stare huffily out their respective windows, Roy grimacing at anyone on the sidewalk, and Jean fiddling around with the straw in his mouth.

"Stop glaring at people like that, Roy, people will wonder if you have problems."

"Good, then I'll say I have psychological problems and say it's your fault because you're an abusive father."

Leroy weighed his words carefully. He shrugged. "At least tell them I'm nice every once in a while."

Roy grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can never win with him, ever." Havoc had just begun to engage in conversation with Maes, in reference to all of Roy's personality problems, which Roy ignored. He'd kill them later, he decided, and turn their bodies to ash. He was then wondering how he would dispose of the ash, when Maes whipped out pictures. Roy jumped up in his seat and hit his head on the ceiling of the car, which caused Alex to sway unsteadily on top, and his weight caused the car to shift crazily to the left. Leroy put his foot on the brake and stopped on the side of the road in a cloud of dust, and Ilia woke up with a start and a soft cry of surprise.

"NO PICTURES! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I'VE SEEN EVERY ONE OF YOUR PICTURES OF GRACIA AT LEAST FIVE HUNDRED TIMES, MAES!" Maes pocketed them with a sniff of indignation. "What are you talking about, it's only been four hundred and fifty-two..."

Leroy was attempting to comfort a panicky Ilia and glare at the backseat at the same time, an action of which he was unsuccessful. "Can you four, _please, _for Ilia's sake, try to keep it down back there? Especially you, Roy!" Roy sulked and Leroy turned back to the road.

"You're just like me, and don't even think about snapping those gloves in here!" Roy put down his hand, wondering how Leroy had seen it without looking at him, since their rearview mirror had been snapped off some days before. "I know how you think. Don't even _think _about it!" he said, as Roy tried to think of some way he could cause his father bodily harm.

"Let's just try to get there in one piece." Leroy swore that he would never have another child after this if only he could get to the beach in _at least_ two pieces.

* * *

I wasn't expecting 5 reviews a day after I posted! Thank you! I just thought I'd make everyone younger and send them to the beach, and I came up with these strange little episodes of a thoroughly paranoid Roy, same old Maes, and a (as strange as it sounds) bit more carefree Riza. Havoc will definitely cause havoc in this story though, so let's just hope Roy doesn't blow him up before the fourth chapter! - T A 


	3. Lunch and Pocketwatches

**Arrgh... I forgot. I do not own FMA, and that goes for every chapter I've written and will write because I really don't feel like writing that more than once per new story!**

**Vacation with the Mustangs**

**Chapter 3**

"I can't believe we're finally here!" Maes yelled as he jumped out of the car. Leroy slumped against the wheel, thanking anyone who would listen for helping him survive the drive. He got out of the car and opened Ilia's door, helping her out. Roy tripped Jean and looked at his father innocently as he glared at him. Leroy was about to open his mouth to say something that he would never be able to take back, but then decided against it and instead gave Roy a pained look.

"We're at the park, please don't give us too much trouble, all right?" The four nodded enthusiastically and followed dutifully behind the two adults, though not as quietly as the two in front would have liked.

"WOAH! Do you SEE that? It's HUGE!" Maes yelled again. Roy's head was too busy swiveling back and forth to take much interest in what Maes was saying. Leroy handed them all tickets. "We've got all-day passes, so you can do whatever you want. Come back here at about six though, so we can head to the hotel.

Roy grinned at Maes. "Let's see how many roller coasters we can go on before we throw up!"

"You'll be the first to hurl, Roy!" Riza watched them both and then asked if she could try too.

"Yeah! Maes is going down first!" Roy made little gagging retching noises. He looked at Havoc. "You want to join in too? I can always kill you later, why not have fun while you can?" Havoc shrugged his shoulders. Leroy gave them all an appraising look. "Now now, kids... you shouldn't be so hard on each other..." Roy couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Morals, _coming from his father's mouth?

"I'll beat you all anyway!" Leroy laughed and Ilia shot him a look, which instantly calmed him down. "But first... you four have fun. I'll crush you all later!" he took Ilia by the arm and headed down the street, leaving the four to decide where they would go.

"Rollercoasters first? Or should we do something else?" Havoc asked, looking a bit queasy. He didn't relish the thought of a rollercoaster competition, but if Roy challenged him... Ride them he would! Maes piped up, "Maybe we should do something else first. No use getting sick and then throwing up the rest of the time we're here!"

"Can we try the small booths? They have games too, and we got everything free, remember?" Riza said, and the other three agreed. They walked up to a shooting booth, to Riza's delight. "I bet I can outshoot you Roy!" Maes declared, and Roy grumbled that he probably could. Roy looked at the man. "What's the prize if we win?" he asked. "A stuffed toy, your pick." Roy scrutinized the selection and saw Riza staring at a large stuffed dog. _This is my chance! I'll win against Maes... somehow. _

Maes however, didn't like the sudden purposeful look that had settled and Roy's face. "Alright. You with the small eyes," Roy glared at him. "Take your shots." he took aim and hit three in the center, the fourth a bit too far to the left, and the final he missed completely. He had lost complete concentration with Riza watching him. "Beat that Maes," Roy said weakly, knowing full well that there was a very good chance his best friend _would _beat it.

Maes sighed heavily and missed the first two, the second shot spraying the man with water, the third too far to the right, and the last two bullseyes. "Alright, alright. Looks like squinty here gets the prize. Whaddaya want kid?" Roy didn't really fear like glaring at the man menacingly, so he just pointed to the dog. "Odd choice for a kid like you," The man commented, to which Roy told him to shove it and hand it over. "You lost on purpose," Roy hissed at Maes. "No way you would ever miss two times in a row!" Maes shrugged. "Today's not my day," he said.

Belcini mewed and Roy looked down, gasping. "Oh no... I forgot to tell Dad to put Belcini in the hotel..." The cat clambered up his leg and settled on his shoulder. "I'm not taking you on the rollercoaster, big guy." Belcini mewed disappointedly and pawed at the gigantic dog toy. "Hey! Paws off!" Riza patted the cat between his ears and he purred. Roy turned. "Um... I was wondering... if... uh... you want this?" he held out the toy to her and she took it. "Thank you!" Roy blushed and turned quickly to see Maes and Havoc laughing.

"What?"

"Nothin' Roy. It's just that... you totally freeze up around her, it's funny! What happened to the ladies man, eh?" Maes chuckled, wiping off his glasses. "Yeah, you never do that around other girls!" Havoc took the opportunity to remove the straw from his mouth and chuck it into a bin.

"I don't _like _other girls!" he said to them scathingly and quiet enough that Riza wouldn't hear. They continued to laugh and he was contemplating incinerating them on the spot when a large hand thumped down on his shoulder. He gulped and turned his head. A tall dark haired man looked at him thoughtfully. "Your dad's name Leroy, kid?" Roy bobbed his head up and down. The man was at least a foot taller than him. At least, he looked that way. Jean and Maes had stopped laughing and were staring at their visitor.

The man nodded to himself, then grinned. "Come to the show then, it's at two at Center Square! Tell your dad Anri said to come." he whistled and lifted his small case up on his shoulder, rushing down the street to meet a woman, conversed, then headed to Center Square with her. Jean's eye twitched. "What the heck was that all about?" he blurted out.

Roy shrugged. "I don't know." Riza pulled on his sleeve. "He seems to know you and your dad. You haven't seen him before?" Roy shook his head that he hadn't. "Oh. That's odd. Well... it's almost lunchtime. Can you carry this for me?" Roy took the dog toy from her again and carried it for her. "We should go see what we can find to eat. I don't think food is free, so we'd better find Dad too. He's got the money."

Riza nodded and Roy scanned the crowd while Jean and Maes drooled at all the wonderful smells coming from Center Square. "Wooow... I've never seen so much food in my life..." they sighed. Roy cast a glance at them. "You haven't? You need to eat at my place more often then. Mom's a maniac when it comes to cooking." The duo glared at him. "Our parents don't get State Alchemist, Fuhrer, and Brigadier General paychecks! You're rich!"

"Hey, I'm just lucky. Look, I think I can see Dad over there." Leroy spotted them and motioned them over. He was talking to the man who had talked to Roy before. "Ah, so he _is _your kid then. He looked an awful lot like you." Leroy shrugged and gave Roy a proud look. "Yep, except for the eyes, those are his mom's." Roy's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "_Don't talk about Mom in public, idiot!" _he hissed. Leroy waved him down.

"It's alright Roy. This is my brother, Anri, whom I hate to death."

"Gee, I love you too Big Brother. How's your wife then?"

"Fine... uh... she's having a bit of trouble, but altogether fine."

Roy stared at both of them. " 'Trouble'?"

"Um, anyway. What are you doing here Anri?"

"Nothin' much. My wife wanted to come to the fair, been dying to actually. And since we're not... you know." he motioned towards Roy and the others.

"Ahh... still shooting blanks, Anri?" Anri turned to stone and shattered on the floor. He yelled, red-faced, at his older brother.

"That's not something you tell everyone Brother! At least I'm not a color-blind bat!"

The brothers turned their backs on each other and yelled deragatory terms at one another.

"Look, you don't discuss my problems, and I won't talk about yours," Anri said, trying for a truce.

"Fine. Blank shooter."

"Color blind old bat."

Roy looked at the others. "These two are worse than me and Jean. What is the world coming to?" The others shrugged and Riza giggled, earning her an odd look from Roy. "What?" She pointed at his head where Belcini was raking his claws through Roy's hair, disheveling it beyond repair. "Hey! Belcini!" he took the cat off his head and put it on Leroy's shoulder, who had made peace with his brother and were now attempting a civilized conversation. It didn't last very long, since Leroy erupted into a tirade against his brother, to which Anri dutifully returned.

"This is going to take too long... let me borrow this!" he snatched his father's wallet out of his pocket, and after Leroy had seen what he had nabbed, walked away with it to contemplate what they'd get for lunch. He hoped Belcini tore up Leroy's jacket to miniscule pieces. Jean and Maes groaned. "The selection is too much! We don't know what to get!"

That was when Roy realized the gold pocketwatch that hung from his father's wallet was gone. "DAMN!" he yelled, and the others stared at him. "Dad's pocketwatch! The one Mom gave him, it's gone! I'm going to get in so much trouble if he finds out..." he shuddered, and then saw a little girl running down the street, the pocketwatch in question swinging from her hand.

"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!"

* * *

I didn't think I'd take so long to post up again, sorry for the wait! Thank you for the reviews! I'm really glad I got some; I was afraid I wouldn't get _any! _T.T - T A 


	4. Jealousy 101

**Vacation with the Mustangs**

**Chapter 4**

"Come back here! That's my dad's watch!" The little girl who looked no more than four or five years old cast a frightened look at the furious teenager running after her and bolted down the street between to game booths. She was quick and small for her age, and Roy had a sinking feeling that he would never catch her. She wasn't just some thief either; he couldn't stand the thought of having to use alchemy to stop her, so he wouldn't.

Then he saw Riza flying down the street, a gun in her hand. She took aim at the girl and Roy yelled at her to stop. She fired three hits in quick succession and the girl fell onto the ground; Roy's heart stopped. "Riza! What did you-" she held up her hand and stopped him. The girl squirmed on the ground and sat up, looking at her hand for the pocketwatch.

The pocketwatch was hanging on the side of the wooden booth, hanging by a dart in one of the metal rings in the chain. Three of them, to be exact. Roy stared at Riza. "Don't tell me... don't tell me you aimed and fired and..." he pointed, mouth hanging, at the watch. "Yep." Roy shook his head. "I won't even... oh my god... I didn't even _know _you had a dart gun!" Riza shrugged. "I don't, I borrowed it from one of the booths." Roy bent down and pulled the darts out of the chain. "Why were you trying to take my watch, anyway?" the girl sniffed and Roy backed up. "Hey hey hey! Don't cry!"

The little girl burst into tears, grabbed at the watch again, missed, and then ran off with Roy's wallet. "Aaagh! My wallet!" She ran off to the square and hid behind a woman on the stage. "Awww... what's wrong Keira?" She picked up the little girl and Roy stopped to a screeching halt, puffing. "That's... that's... my wallet. I need it back!" he huffed. She looked at Keira and the girl gave up the wallet. "You shouldn't take things that aren't yours, Keira! Daddy would be sad if he knew." Keira sniffed. "Daddy said to get the gold pocketwatch, and he had it! He stole it from the other guy!" she said, pointing her finger at Roy.

"Me? Steal? I got this from my dad!"

Anri walked up onto the stage, a flute and a saxaphone in his hands. "Eh? Lira, what's up? What's wrong, Keira?" Leroy followed behind his brother and gave him a look. "I thought you said you didn't have any kids." Anri shrugged. "You didn't let me finish! I was going to say I don't have as many as you do. Keira's my only one," he said fondly, kissing her forehead. "She's so cute..."

"Now what happened?" he asked.

"Keira stole a pocketwatch and a wallet from this boy here. Did you tell her to get the pocketwatch?" Anri shook his head at first, but then a look of realization dawned on his face. "Oh no. I told her to get _my _gold pocketwatch from the rehearsal room. She must have gotten it mixed up with Leroy's pocketwatch."

"It's not the same pocketwatch?" Keira asked. Anri shook his head. "No, it wasn't. But I see what you were trying to do... it's okay." he smiled. "You thought Leroy had stolen the watch from me and that Roy stole it from him, didn't you?" Keira nodded and buried her face into Lira's shoulder. Anri picked her up and put her down opposite of Roy. "Now what do you say to Roy, Keira?"

"I'm sorry..." she said, looking at her shoes. Roy shook his head. "It's okay, you just got confused. I'd better get back, the others are probably starving by now!"

Maes and Jean gave him evil glares as he ran towards them. "Nice job, Roy, you almost starved us to death!" Maes said. Roy shrugged and held up the wallet. "I've got it now, so calm down. What do you guys want to eat?" The two of them drooled at the variety that was offered to them, and pointed in every direction. "Over there!"

"No! There!"

While Jean and Maes argued over what to eat, Riza was over at the table talking to Ilia and Leroy. "Look," Roy snapped, "Will you two just make up your minds already?" Maes and Jean both saluted and Roy ground his teeth. "We've decided!" Roy tapped his foot on the ground. "Okay. Out with it then!"

"The All You Can Eat!"

"I should have known. Here, you guys do whatever, I'm not hungry," he said, tossing the wallet to them. Jean and Maes drooled and went over to get their food. Roy sat next to Riza at the table. "You're not hungry?" he asked. She shrugged. "Not really... and if there's nothing in my stomach, I won't throw up anything!"

"Planning ahead, are we?"

She patted the head of the giant stuffed dog on the table and laughed. "Maybe. I'm sure you are too. Thanks for the toy." Roy nodded and Leroy blanched. "Look, you can get all romantic in the hotel, alright? I've been there, done that, and don't feel comfortable seeing my son doing it." Roy glared at him and Ilia pushed Leroy gently. "Be nice, Leroy."

"What? I'm just nervous, okay?" Ilia whispered something in his ear. "Okay... alright..."

"While I'm still thinking here, where's Alex run off to?"

Roy thumbed over his shoulder. "Cleaning out the last of the All You Can Eat place with Jean and Maes. I doubt there'll be anything left after they're through."

"True."

"Riza! Riza!" Maes called. Riza half-turned in her seat. "What?"

Maes ran up to her holding a box in his hands. "I found something you might like." She opened the box and something brown and furry leaped on her. "Yip!" Riza held it up and Roy could practically see her heart melting. "Awww... it's so cute... cute little puppy!" Roy's blood boiled and he gave Maes another of his If-Looks-Could-Kill-You'd-Be-Disentegrated looks. Maes held up his hands innocently. "Now you have to tell me the secret Riza!" Riza petted the puppy some more and whispered into Maes's ear. Roy felt oddly hostile and eager to burn something.

Maes's eyes widened. "No way! She doesn't look it! I can't believe Roy doesn't know!" Roy's eyes narrowed even further and his right hand started to shake under the table. More specifically, his thumb and middle finger started to shake. Leroy sighed. "Control, Son, control."

Roy turned quickly in his seat and suddenly became absorbed in the show proceedings, face red and heart thumping wildly in his chest. Leroy's eyebrow raised and he looked at Ilia. "Should I, or do you want to?" Ilia motioned for him to go and he got up, sitting next to Roy after Riza left to walk the puppy. "Getting jealous?"

"I'm not jealous!" he yelled, staring at the stage even harder. Leroy sighed and tilted his head at his son. "Sometimes it's not a bad thing, you know. But when you get jealous over something as little as that... well it's no good for you, let me tell you that. I had to fight with someone over your mother too."

"Really?"

"Yep. You know Basque Gran? The Iron-Blooded Alchemist?" Roy nodded. "He had the hots for your mom, and he had it bad. I won in the end tho'."

"Gran? Yuck."

"Oh, he wasn't such a bad guy back then you know. He was a bit older than me, we had the same rank. He got rotten after I succeeded the Fuhrer."

"Were you jealous?"

"Hell yeah! But I didn't fire back at first. Waited a little while to see what your mom would do. Guess we were just meant to be," he said, smiling. "So don't get worked up, okay? Don't lose your best friend over a girl. There are lots of girls out there, but very few will be true friends."

"Okay..." Leroy patted his shoulder.

"Good. Now are we going on those rollercoasters or what?"

* * *

Yay! Chapter 4! Sorry this took a little longer.. I've had to prepare for school since I'm entering high school this year. Once school starts, updated probably won't come everyday. Every week maybe. - T A

O... I gotta get crackin' on Halfmetal Alchemist too... dangit.


End file.
